Tales of Bandle City: In the beginning
by Candlestic
Summary: No one starts as a champion; things must happen to create all the legends famous in the Institute of War now. But what are they? Follow the lives of 6 Yordles from before they'd faced the trials and triumphs that would create the champions they'd become. Start at the beginning, when they were young and innocent and just starting to meet. As they begin on the adventure of a lifetime
1. Three little yordles

**Author's note: Hi. Wow it's been a while since I last wrote something. So this is a bit different from anything I've written before but I have seen this done. I just needed to give an outlet to these stories that have been accumulating and going around and around in my head.**

**I love the lore of the League of Legends and I absolutely adore the yordles so it's no surprise this came out. It's the life story of six of the yordles (Tristana, Teemo, Ziggs, Rumble, Kennen, Poppy) from childhood through the trials that cause them to join the League and how they grow once there. I really wanted to give a bit of depth to their characters; to look at their relationships and the trials that change them over time. I do plan on including the other yordles later in the story and other champions and developing them a bit more but it mainly focuses on these six.**

**So the biggest reason this is so different from anything I've ever written before is the fact that it isn't complete. All my other pieces I've finished before uploading to fanfiction but this one I don't even know the ending yet. I usually don't like doing so cause I don't like leaving things unfinished but I just had to start somewhere on this one. There was really no way to know where this will end and I figured it was better to get it up before Riot changed anymore of the lore. As it is, Tristana is based more on her old splash and background. As a result of the incompleteness (and the fact I am also still working on my novel) my updates will be a bit sporadic. I do plan on sticking with this and completing it, however, any encouragement will go a long way to helping (hint hint nudge nudge). Haha, but seriously I would appreciate any feedback anyone would be willing to give. I will be breaking the story down into several stories just to make it a bit more manageable.**

**Last thing: this story didn't just sporn on the spot, it has evolved over time. And a lot of the evolution has been inspired by many of the other stuff out there, especially other fan work. As much as I want to give credit where credit is due, with the amount of time that has past and the amount of stuff that I have looked at I honestly don't think I could find it all again or even remember all that inspired me. So if you find something in here that you feel stemmed from your idea and want the credit don't hesitate to PM me and I'll take care of it.**

**If you made it through all that I commend you. Go and enjoy the first chapter :).**

**Disclaimer: Valoran and the majority of the characters in this story belong to Riot. I do not and will not in the coming chapters own any of them.**

* * *

It was his first day at school and Teemo found himself faltering at the gate, his ever present smile wavering.

What if they didn't like him? What if he didn't make any friends?

The young orphan felt his nerves rising, glancing back at the caretaker that had dropped him and the others off. She simply smiled at him, accustomed to the various reactions of the youngsters on their first day. "Go on," she urged softly. "Everything will work out fine."

Encouraged he nodded and took his first steps into the school grounds. All around him young yordles ran; screaming, laughing and embracing friends they hadn't seen since the year before. To be honest, Teemo found all the action to be a little overwhelming for one so young and shy as himself. True, the orphanage itself was rather rambunctious but the place and the yordles were familiar to Teemo and he usually spent most of his time in the woods at the edge of the grounds, revelling in the peace and quiet. Here however, the activity was even more boisterous and everything was unfamiliar. His confidence faltered and he found himself wishing he could run back to the orphanage and his secret spot, away from the noise and the curious, judging eyes.

He was just about to run back out the gate and to the arms of watching caretaker when suddenly a pale blue girl came bounding confidently up to him. She was quite young, most likely starting school just like him, and had short white hair and bright turquoise eyes.

"Hi," she said with a big smile, "my name's Tristana. What's yours?"

"Teemo," he said shyly.

Her grin brightened with his answer, becoming even bigger than it was before. "Did you want to be friends?"

Teemo blinked in surprise before his characteristic smile bloomed. "Sure."

And apparently it was that easy.

* * *

Several weeks had passed since school had started but still Teemo couldn't help but feel like each new day was an adventure. Tristana simply made it that way with her larger than life personality. She really was an amazing friend: smart, kind and genuine. And as her parents were well known Bandle City officials everyone wanted to be her friend.

Which is why it surprised Teemo so much that she'd kicked all their butts to be his friend instead. Him. The little orphan that had never known a family. The yordle who had been dropped at the orphanage door as a baby with no clues as to where he came from. She had wanted to be his friend, and in doing so had become the closest thing to family he had ever known aside from the orphanage caretaker. And he was ecstatic. Little did he know that this small group of friends he would eventually call a second family was not yet complete.

It was late in the afternoon and Teemo and Tristana were in their last class of the day: show and tell. A class most of the young yordles enjoyed.

While similar in many ways to humans, yordles did grow and develop at a different rate. Yordles grew rapidly in their youth. Their intellect progressing to well beyond the standard of most human children before they even started school. This continued until they hit their teenage years and their progression slowed; their learning rate dropping down to a more human level and their physical appearance almost at its peak. They would still grow however, up until they hit the age of 18 and officially became adults. After that point a yordle would not physically age for over half their lifespan, before slowly aging till the end of their life. Since for many yordles this was around 80 years, most appeared and acted the same way for a good 40 years. And it was widely joked that this was the reason most yordles acted immaturely.

However, despite the speculation around a yordles' later progression, it was well known that the first years of schooling for a yordle was critical to their development as this was the age they would be absorbing the most amount of knowledge. As a result, most parents taught their children about their jobs and experiences at this age, nurturing their minds and their passions. This was only expanded on at school, allowing each child to express their new found knowledge and discover a variety of opportunities for them to follow.

Despite how versatile Valoran was, Bandle City itself was more isolated than most places on the continent. Protected from invasion by the Kumungu jungle and the Sablestone Mountains, the easiest way to Bandle City was by ship. And while this produced a safe and stable environment for yordles to interact and grow, it did slightly hinder the inquisitive and intelligent nature of young yordles fascinated with the world around them. Hence why show and tell became such a core part of early schooling life. It gave the youngsters the chance to learn more about the world without needing to experience it themselves. And as a result was the favourite subject of most of the class.

Teemo, however, was not in this majority. That's not to say he didn't enjoy learning about Bandle City and the outside world. Oh no, the subject fascinated him and Tristana both. It was more his nerves at the thought of standing in front of the class and talking. Teemo was already shy to begin with so he wasn't all that fond of presenting in the first place, however what really got to him was that he didn't know what to talk about. He had never had a family to share experiences with and while the caretaker did her best to care for them all, she had too many to look after to teach them a lot. Most of what Teemo knew was common knowledge already and not that interesting.

A small nudge from Tristana brought him from his thoughts and Teemo pushed his nerves aside to focus on the current speaker.

The young boy speaking had scruffy brown fur, vibrant green eyes and the biggest grin either of them had ever seen as he animatedly explained his father's inventions.

Tristana recalled seeing the boy in class, usually fidgeting and doodling on his page. And yet, despite his seeming lack of attention in class, he always threw himself excitedly into whatever activity was occurring. Though not always with the best results.

As if to demonstrate this, one of the boy's hands accidently knocked one of the inventions off the table in an expressive sweep, causing it to explode right in the teacher's face.

The room exploded into laughter at the teacher's soot-covered, scowling face.

Tristana, however, didn't laugh. She was looking at the boy's dejected face and drooping ears and she didn't find that funny.

* * *

Ziggs sighed as he walked out of class. He'd done it again. He'd gotten clumsy and it had blown up in his face. Again!

_Well, technically it had blown up in the teacher's face, _he thought with a small grin, though it fell off as he wondered what he was going to tell his parents this time.

All around kids jostled him, laughing and exclaiming things like, "Best show and tell ever!" Not that it made him feel any better. It was only due to his clumsiness that they were saying that.

As if to verify that he could never do anything right he tripped over his own feet; sending himself and his stuff sprawling.

Dejectedly he started picking up his stuff when a voice called through his thoughts. "Need any help?"

He looked up to see a young boy and girl. The female who had spoken stood closer, turquoise eyes looking at him in kindness and a small smile on her face. Behind her the other yordle looked at him with wide blue eyes framed with orange patches that stood out on his pale fur. Together they helped him pick up his stuff.

"I liked your presentation," the girl said, making Ziggs cringe, expecting joke about his accident. Instead, he looked up in surprise when she continued, "Your dad's inventions are cool. I especially liked the antimass inducer. I hear they've been trying to integrate them into the latest range of MG cannons."

"Yeah," he said in surprise. "That's right."

She smiled, looking like she was going to say something else when the other boy asked, "Did your dad really make all of these?"

Ziggs nodded with a grin, "Yeah. Though if you think these are cool, you should see his garage. He actually has some of the MG cannons you were talking about. You ever seen them?"

The boy shook his head, "I haven't really seen any of the cutting edge technology at all."

At the same time the girl huffed, crossing her arms. "My mum won't let me."

"Well if you wanted," Ziggs suggested a little self-consciously, "I could show you guys some time."

"That'd be great!" The girl grinned enthusiastically. The boy however wasn't so sure.

"Would that be okay with your parents?" he asked.

Ziggs waved him off. "They'll be fine. They'll just be glad I brought friends home. They think it keeps me from blowing things up," he said only half joking. Pulling his backpack on, he continued, "I'm Ziggs, by the way."

"Tristana," the girl said standing up. "And this here is Teemo."

Teemo smiled, "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Ziggs grinned.

They had started walking along, Ziggs talking animatedly about some of his dad's stuff, when Tristana paused, feeling eyes on her back. Turning around she noticed a young blue yordle watching them with curious amber eyes. He was short, even by yordle standards, with big ears and the beginnings of a mohawk starting; and he was staring at them with a slight longing look.

With a smile she waved, catching his attention. Jumping, his expression closed off and he scuttled back around the corner he'd come from.

Tristana frowned, unsure of what to make of the situation before shrugging and catching up with the others.

* * *

From that point on, the three of them became infamous around the school as a group of trouble makers. That's not to say that the teachers didn't like them; quite the contrary. Most of them thought that individually they were very smart, sweet and caring. Together, however, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Tristana, of course, was their ring leader: coming up with the ideas and usually convincing the others to go along with them. Ziggs then provided the enthusiasm and Teemo usually just hung on for the ride.

Things didn't always go to plan however, and more often than not the three of them would find themselves covered in the exploits of their latest misadventure under the official stare of whichever adult had found them. And that's when they brought out their secret weapon: Teemo. He would simply look at them with his innocent face and big eyes and apologise. Saying that they didn't mean for things to go wrong and really they were just trying to help. And just like that, the scowl would melt and they would get the seemingly endless final warning not to do it again.

And so things continued on and not much changed. At least until over a year later and a simple decision to help another changed their lives forever.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Let me know what you think of it :). Cheers, Candlestic.**


	2. Rumbling it up

**Author's note: Hi all. Firstly I must say, thank you for the response I got to the first chapter, I'm glad so many liked it. And secondly, I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to post this. I've been sick and catching up with work. The other reason I took so long with this chapter was I wanted to get a timeline up to help me sort everything in my head out. Also, since it's the end of semester, I may not get the next chapter up in time but I will try. Thank you all and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Rumble ran exuberantly ahead of his parents, eyes bright with excitement. It was his first day at school and he was ecstatic at the thought of all the new things he'd experience: the yordles he'd meet; the things he'd learn and see. Each new prospect just doubled his feelings until he was practically vibrating with sheer enthusiasm.

Behind him his parents walked at a more sedate pace, smiling fondly at their son's antics. His delight was almost enough to genuinely erase the touches of worry and caution marring their features. While Rumble himself might think school would be perfect, his parents were more realistic. They knew the discrimination and judgement that could come with it. It made them worry for their little son; the son that was small even compared to those his age.

Rumble was their only child. And honestly, it was a miracle they'd been able to have him in the first place. The rare condition his mother had made it difficult for her to carry and they'd been told they'd never be able to have children of their own. Finding out Rosalyn was pregnant had been one of the best and the worst time of their lives. Even now they could recall the initial joy they'd felt at the news turn to worry as Rosalyn had fallen seriously ill. The desperation they'd felt as she steadily got worse until in one last ditch effort to save either of them she'd been forced to have the baby early. Then there had been the heartbreaking sadness when their baby had been pronounced too premature to survive. Their Rumble was a fighter though. And his parents could still recall how surprised and proud they had been when against all odds their baby had pulled through to become a perfectly happy, healthy child. If, albeit, on the small side.

However, after everything they'd gone through they were a little hesitant to leave him to face the world all by himself; even if they knew it was inevitable. And so, as he bid them goodbye with one last kiss, they just had to hope everything would be alright.

* * *

Rumble practically dove into the school yard, revelling in the chaos all around him. Everywhere yordles of every shape and colour roamed about in an eye-popping display of fluid, frenetic motion. It was all so exciting. Grinning, Rumble tried to take in everything around him as he moved through the pandemonium. He was so focused on his task that he didn't even see the yordle in front of him until it was too late.

Rumble felt his breath leave him as he hit the ground, looking up to see what he'd bounced off of. In front of him a dark furred yordle with droopy ears turned. He was big for a yordle, taller than most of the other kids around and much wider. A big nose took up most of his face, which coupled with the permanent sneer he wore, really didn't do much for his looks.

"Hey Runt, watch where you're going."

Something about his tone just rubbed him the wrong way and before he'd even thought about it Rumble retorted, "Well maybe if you weren't so fat I wouldn't have run into you."

The yordle's two friends chuckled at that, the comment drawing their interest to the show. Ignoring them, the yordle snarled, "You're a little small to be throwing around insults like that." Reaching out he pushed Rumble to emphasize his point before leaning in close to finish, "So I'd watch my mouth if I was you. Otherwise someone might get hurt."

Again Rumble acted on instinct, too stubborn to be cowed. Taking a step backwards, he waved his hand in front of his face. "With breath like that I'm not surprised."

The guffaws from his friends turned into full blown laughter.

"Hey Klive," one said throwing his arm around said shoulders, effectively holding him in place, "Looks like you made a new friend."

Laughing the other continued and threw his arm across Klive's other side, "I mean I always knew you had the brain capacity of a toddler but I never expected you to actually start making friends with them."

Rumble narrowed his eyes at them, "I'm not a toddler you nitwits. Are you really that stupid that you can't tell the difference between someone's size and their age? I may be small but I'm more than ready to start school, unlike some I could name."

Sharing a look Klive's two friends pushed themselves off him, their smiles turning slightly dangerous. "So you want to play with the big boys do you?"

Lending forward and grabbing Rumble by the front of his shirt, Klive finished, "Guess we better show you the ropes."

* * *

Rumble stared miserably at the white tiled floor of the nurse's office gently holding his arm. Shifting slightly, he winced as his multiple of his bruises flared up in protest. To be fair, he'd put up a good fight; but in the end it was still three against one and Rumble's first day had ended before it'd even really begun.

He looked up at the sound of footsteps approaching to meet the pair of matching amber eyes of his mum before looking away again. Rosalyn simply sighed, gathering her son up and heading off.

The trip home was silent: a far cry from what it had been that very morning. Life was sometimes ironic like that, Rosalyn thought casting another glance at her son through the rear view mirror. Behind her Rumble sat staring out the window expression subdued and unreadable. Rosalyn, for her part, was unsure what to say. And so, she decided to wait for Rumble to open up to her first.

It was only when they got home however, that he finally approached her. "Mama," he started hesitantly.

"Yes sweetie," she turned her full attention to him, giving him a warm smile.

He shuffled from foot to foot for a moment, obviously debating on whether to speak or not, before asking, "Is it bad to be small?"

Rosalyn sighed. She'd known this question would come eventually, but she had hoped she wouldn't need to answer it until much later in his life. After all, how do you explain such a difficult topic as prejudice to a five year old when many adults didn't understand it? Still, he deserved some sort of explanation. So pulling him into her lap she said, "No Rumble. There's nothing wrong with being small."

He sat up a bit, twisting to look her in the eyes, "But they picked on me because I was small. They picked on me because they were bigger than me and could push me around. Why? I'm small but I can do things too!"

A small, sad smile tugged at her lips, "I know. Rumble, you are incredibly talented; you can do things many others can't despite your size. It's just," here she frowned, trying to explain, "sometimes people don't like different. It scares them so they pick on it to feel better about themselves."

"But that's not fair," Rumbled whined. "I didn't ask to be small and picked on."

"I know sweetie and it's not right. But you can't change how other people are." Pulling him so close their foreheads and noses touched she whispered, "I'll tell you a secret though. Some of the most famous and respected yordles have been different and been picked on because of it."

"Really?" Rumble breathed.

Rosalyn chuckled, "Do you think they could have made such a great difference to the world by being the same as everyone else? No. They were unique; and no matter what anyone else did or said, they used that for the greater good. You can too Rumble. Being small doesn't hinder you. Yordles are quite short compared to most of the other races but we are valued all over Valoran for our strength, intellect and enthusiasm. You can be too. You may be small but you have a big mind and a big heart. I know you can do anything you set your mind to. Just remember: no matter what happens and no matter what you do, your papa and I will always love you and be proud of you."

Rumble gave her a hug, "Thanks mama."

"No problem sweetie."

* * *

Unfortunately the next day did not bring a change. It seemed Klive and his friends had decided that Rumble was now their favourite target and as a result, each day Rumble found himself cornered somewhere by the three of them. Despite that he never backed down, always managing to get a couple of good shots in both physically and verbally. In the end, however, he was always the one to come out the worst.

He wasn't having much success with the other yordles either. The teachers didn't seem to notice what was going on and the other students were all so afraid they'd be targeted if they were seen with him that they gave him a wide berth. And yet, despite everything, he still held onto the hope that someone would eventually not care. That someone would eventually approach him. And then one day someone did.

Rumble had been sitting under his favourite tree during lunch break when the girl approached him. The oak tree grew right on the edge of the grounds, giving him an inconspicuous, yet unobstructed view of the entire yard. From there he could watch the other yordles interact and still keep an eye out for Klive. So far neither he nor his friends had shown up; which is why it surprised him that instead of the huge bulk that was Klive, approaching him was a tallish, dark haired female.

"Hi," she smiled at him. "I'm Litani."

"Um hi," Rumble replied, unsure what to make of the situation. "I'm Rumble."

"So," the older girl continued, shuffling her feet a bit, "I see you sitting here all the time by yourself and I thought you might like to join my friends and me."

Rumble blinked in surprise, hope bubbling up inside him as he smiled, "Sure."

He followed her back to the group of girls she'd pointed out before, sitting on the grass by the 4th year classrooms. "Girls," Litani stated with a meaningful look – a look that Rumble missed in his nervousness, "this is Rumble."

"Hi," he said shyly, sitting down between Litani and one of her friends.

"Aw," the girl said, "He's so cute."

Rumble felt his eyes narrow at the comment but he simply let out a deep breath like his papa had taught him and didn't say anything. After all, he didn't want to blow his first chance at making friends so soon.

"And so tiny."

Not that they were making it easy.

"You must be in the first grade right?" another asked.

Rumble opened his mouth to reply that yes, he was in first grade and no, he didn't like being called small when he was cut off as the third joked, "If that."

In response the second continued, "It kind of makes him adorable though, doesn't it. Like a baby."

With that comment, Rumble couldn't take it anymore. "Look," he stood up. "I may be small but I'm not stupid and I don't appreciate you treating me that way. So stop."

The only response he got from them however was a fit of giggles.

"It's funny seeing him try and act all grown up. Hey Litani, get him to do it again."

Rumble stared at them in confusion. Was that all they really saw of him? A cute, small child not to be taken seriously. If so he didn't want them as friends. Turning around he announced, "Well if you're not going to take me seriously then I'm out of here."

However as he was starting to leave he was tripped, causing him to land face first into someone's lunch. He looked up at them as they burst out laughing again, food sliding down his surprised face.

"Aw," Litani cooed, "Looks like baby made a mess. I guess we should help him get cleaned up." And with that she dumped a whole bottle of water on him.

The laughter doubled and Rumble felt hurt and confusion well up inside him. What was going on? Why were they doing this to him? Uncertain, he started backing up, only to run into a solid object.

"Be careful sis or you might make baby cry," a familiar voice jeered.

Turning around Rumble watched as Klive and his friends came to stand next to Litani. "I don't understand," he mumbled. "Why-"

"What?" Litani cut him off. "Did you actually think we would want to be friends with you? The little loner freak. As if. No one would ever want to be friends with the likes of you. Better learn that now and save yourself a lot of embarrassment later."

By then, the others had joined her, firing off their own insults as they circled him like a flock of sharp-winged thresher geese. Emotions tumbled around inside Rumble, filling him with pain, confusion and fear. All the while their words reverberated in his head, drowning his thoughts under the harmful sounds. Overwhelmed and unable to think straight, Rumble did the only thing he could: he ran.

They let him go, the sound of their taunting laughter driving him further and further away. Images blurred past him but he never stopped. Not until he'd made his way to a secluded corner of the grounds, shimmying between the two walls to the enclosed space beyond. He'd found this place in his first week of school, quickly claiming it as his own. Tucked away on the edge of the school, with an opening too small for anyone else to fit through, it gave him the perfect spot to withdraw himself from the outside world and quietly think.

He slid down the wall, fighting away the burning in his eyes. He would not cry. He would prove them wrong. He was no cry baby. Still their words continued inside his head, causing him to ball up and his fingers to grip his ears in a futile attempt to get rid of them.

Battling the burning and the words, he completely ignored the lunch bell's chimes. Instead he sat comfortably alone staring listlessly at the sky until the final bell rang. With a sigh he got up and started making his way back through the school.

As he neared his classroom he paused, peering around the corner as his classmates surged out of the room. He let the inane noise they made wash away the last of the hurtful words, idly wondering if anyone had noticed his absence. If he was honest with himself: probably not.

His attention refocused on the outside world as the motion of a boy tripping caught his eye, watching as the boy scrambled for his stuff before another two yordles helped him out. He felt a spike of jealousy rise in his stomach. Why couldn't something like that ever happen to him? Why couldn't someone help him for a change? Was there really something wrong with him?

All of a sudden, the girl turned his way, waving at him.

Rumble jerked back in shock, the wave reminding him of Litani's initial greeting and then her words afterwards. His face hardened. Maybe they were right. Maybe he was destined to be a loner. Making friends would be hard now that he wasn't able to trust anyone ever again. But that was alright; he was determined to make the most of it. He'd show them he didn't need anyone. And he'd show them just what he was capable of when they messed with him.

* * *

The next day, mid-morning was broken by the shrieks of Litani and her friends when, walking to class, a bucket of permanent paint dropped down on them. Watching the multi-coloured group trek their way to the principal's office, leaving a trail the whole way, Rumble allowed himself a small smile.

* * *

**So what did you think? :). Please let me know.**


	3. All for one

**Author's note: Hi all. I'm so so sorry about the delay. I tried really hard to get this chapter up sooner but it seems like all my courses decided to put the majority of their assessment in the last four weeks of classes :/. I've been struggling to get everything in on time, let alone post a chapter. That said, your reviews have been amazing :). I can't believe I've gotten so many and it's because of all of you that this was the first thing I did when I got the free time. Thank you for all your support and I hope this chapter was worth the wait. **

* * *

The year passed in much a similar manner for Rumble. Klive and his friends continued to target him and he in turn continued to retaliate, causing them continued humiliation. This only enraged them more, but Rumble didn't care; they weren't going to stop harassing him so he saw no reason to go down without a fight.

This was not without its drawbacks: as a result of the bullying, Rumble found himself withdrawing more and more from his class mates. Instead he found solace in the city's junkyards, spending whatever free time he could tinkering with the junk. His room was littered with small mechanical toys he'd built from scratch, a true prodigy when it came to machines.

His parents, amazed by his talent, did their best to nurture it but it wasn't an easy task. Due to his quick mind he often found himself bored in class, finding the work easy and the topics boring. That coupled with the bullying caused a rapid dislike of school in general and he began to make up all sorts of excuses to get out of going.

It worried his parents. Yordles, by their very nature, needed social interaction as their mental health primarily relied on the company they kept. Any yordle that became isolated (particularly from other yordles) or exposed to too much negative interaction would begin to withdraw into themselves and the stability of their mental state would begin to deteriorate. There were even known cases of yordles being isolated for so long they went insane. While rare, some of the twisted shells of the former benevolent beings had caused so much damage that the consequences of such insanity had etched a deep fear in every rational yordle alive. Even today, with some of the best minds looking into it, it was unknown if such a condition could be reversed.

To have their son, at such a critical age, already showing some of these antisocial behaviours it didn't just worry Rosalyn and Chuck, it terrified them. If something didn't change they would lose their son: either to insanity or the increasingly violent beat downs.

Thankfully, change was just around the corner.

* * *

It was two weeks into the new school year and Tristana, Teemo and Ziggs were walking home from school as usual. At the front of the group Ziggs was walking backwards, focusing on his animated argument with Teemo rather than where he was going. Tristana just knew he'd end up tripping over something or someone _again._ Honestly, she reckoned his clumsiness was more due to his lack of attention than anything else.

"I'm telling you, Heimerdinger is the coolest yordle in history. Not only has he made huge contributions to yordle and human societies he's actually still alive, not some ancient long-dead tale," Ziggs argued.

Teemo crossed his arms over his chest, "Naha. Thomas Tenderfoot is way better than that. He was actually the yordle that founded Bandle City. You can't get much cooler than that. Plus he also spent the rest of his years exploring and mapping the areas around us. It's because of him that we know so much about where we live."

"Yeah well…"

Tristana started to zone off at that point, for once not really interested in the topic of discussion. After all, in her opinion, you couldn't really beat Megling. Her daring exploits and harrowing adventures were the stuff of legends; when Tristana was older she was going to be just like her.

Instead, Tristana found herself observing the scenery. Even though they walked this way all the time, she'd never really payed much attention to it; usually more involved in the company of her friends. Now though she took the time to examine the earthy, school brick wall rising beside them along with the overhang of trees separating them from the road. For such a small race their cities were some of the most spacious in all of Valoran. It was the wide open spaces and rustic buildings that gave Bandle City such a homely feel; and as the years went by it would always be the thing they missed the most when they were away.

As she was admiring the purple jacaranda trees in bloom, something in the corner of Tristana's eye caught her attention causing her to pause. Noticing her sudden absence, Ziggs and Teemo turned back, curiously trailing her as she back tracked to the alley they'd just passed.

While Tristana suspected she'd seen a few yordlings, when she got a proper look at the scene in front of her she felt her blood begin to boil. At the end of the alley three sixth graders had a younger yordle pinned to the wall. Despite how badly he was outnumbered and outgunned, the small kit continued to struggle in the largest boy's grip, the determination in his amber eyes making it clear that he wasn't going to give them an inch without a fight. The bloody nose and black eye he sported, however, testified just how little good it was doing him.

Now one did not need to know Tristana long to know that along with a wide stubborn streak, she had a very strong moral compass. Once she had set her mind on something, nothing was going to change it. So it was no big surprise that she immediately and without much thought to the situation marched towards the four, commanding at the top of her voice, "Hey! Leave him alone!"

Four surprised faces immediately turned towards her, the shock of her appearance and her demand stalling any comebacks.

From his position suspended above the ground Rumble blinked at the petite girl; shock and another unidentified emotion swirling within him. No one had ever stood up for him before. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to make of it.

Beside him Klive dumbly looked between her and the alley entrance where her two friends stood in confusion before the shock wore off and he burst into scornful laughter. His friends joined him, all three finding mirth at the lunacy of her audacity. Even as he looked, taking in her young age and diminutive size, his disbelief grew. What could she do to him of all people? "Oh yeah," he sneered, "And if we don't?"

Tristana didn't back down, "I'll make you."

Her answer just caused them to laugh harder. "As if that's supposed to intimidate us," Klive hooted. "Get lost kid, while you still have the chance."

Her fists tightened as her body shifted into a better fighting stance, "Don't underestimate me. I'm stronger than I look. Now. Put. Him. Down."

Klive passed Rumble off to his friend before stepping up to her, "I don't have to listen to you. Now get lost!" And he slapped her.

The next instant Teemo and Ziggs were upon him, their momentum pushing him to the ground.

"You leave her alone!" Teemo shouted, punching him in the face.

"Yeah," Ziggs added, kicking him in the stomach. "Cause when you mess with one, you mess with all of us!"

Growling, Klive tried to push them off but they continued to cling on tight, throwing punches and kicks for all their worth. "Ahh! Don't just stand there," he yelled to his friends, "help me!"

The one on his left, the ginger kit with cat-like ears, reared his arm back in an attempt to punch Teemo. But before he could land a hit Tristana, who'd just found her feet, bull rushed him, slamming into his knees and toppling him over.

With her attention focused on cat-face she didn't see the last one swinging for her but Rumble did. Still dangling above the action, he felt a protective fury well up within him at the sight of his rescuer in danger. "Hey watch out!" he called out to her then with all his might he bit down on his captor's hand. The bully howled in pain, dropping the boy and bending over his hand just in time for Tristana's reactive uppercut.

While the two sixth graders reorientated themselves, Tristana took the time to pull the yordling to his feet. "You alright?" she asked the blue furred boy.

"Yeah." His reply was slightly shaky but his face was set with determination.

"Good," Tristana nodded. "I need you to watch my back."

"Right," this time his voice didn't waver as she turned back to back with him, readying herself as cat-face came at her again.

* * *

In the end the teachers heard the commotion and had to pull the four of them off the three bigger boys where upon all seven of them were sent to the principal's office.

Sitting in the administration office waiting for their parents to pick them up, Tristana turned to the smaller boy beside her, completely ignoring the glares from the three seated across the room. Now that she had the chance to get a better look at him she recognised him from her class. He was always the one that had stood out to her for seeming so distant. He never interacted with the others and instead spent most of his time sketching away in his book or looking out the window, when he bothered to show up at all that is. Tristana had always found it weird; now at least she had a bit of an explanation for it.

"Hi," she smiled, "I don't think we've met properly yet. I'm Tristana. My friends are Teemo and Ziggs."

The boy looked at her apprehensively before shyly mumbling, "Rumble."

An awkward silence rose up after that while Tristana tried to work out what to say next. Unexpectedly however, before she could, Rumble spoke up again, "I'm sorry for getting you into trouble."

While he wasn't sure exactly how they'd react, he had not been expecting Ziggs to start laughing. He looked up in surprise as the boy waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. We get into trouble all the time."

"First time we've ended up in the principal's office though," Teemo added contemplatively, "Usually we can talk our way out of it."

Ziggs nodded sagely before grinning cheekily, "Must be the new guy's fault."

Rumble flinched slightly as, at the same time, Tristana wacked her friend lightly. Rolling her eyes she reassured Rumble, "Ignore him. He thinks he's funny."

"Hey!" Ziggs shouted.

Cracking a slight smile Rumble asked, "So, what do you guys do to get into trouble normally?"

They all chuckled at that. "Where do we start?" Teemo rolled his eyes.

"Well," Tristana contemplated, leaning forward in her chair, "there was that one last week when we got mud all over the floor in front of the teacher's office trying to carry it to the front of the school."

Ziggs and Teemo laughed hard at that, and even Rumble grinned, his eyes lighting up in interest. "Oh!" Ziggs exclaimed. "What about that one at the end of last year when our catapult misfired and hit Miss Pringer instead. Her face was classic!"

Teemo nodded through his giggles, "She came stomping up to us, her hair dripping wet and stuck to her face with the fiercest scowl. I was so sure she was going to give us detention for weeks."

"She probably would have if it hadn't been for Mr Ranger," Tristana agreed. "We're lucky he was around to talk to her."

Rumble made a face, "Miss Pringer's horrible. She gave me a week's worth of detention once for hitting her with my egg shooter."

The other three burst out laughing as the distinct image of their uptight Vice Principal covered in egg came to mind. "Oh I'd have loved to see that," Ziggs grinned, his eyes alighting with mischief, "You should do it again."

Teemo shook his head, "That's just asking for trouble. I don't know why you'd even aim for her in the first place Rumble."

Rumble shrugged. "I wasn't," he said quietly. "I was trying to get Klive back for the bloody nose he gave me."

The laughter subdued at his statement, the other three exchanging glances over his bowed head.

"Don't worry," Tristana took charge, throwing her arm around his shoulders. "They'll think twice about messing with you now that we're around."

Rumble's head shot up at that, disbelief written across his face. "You want to be friends? With me?"

Teemo and Ziggs exchanged confused shrugs before Teemo turned to him. "Why wouldn't we want to?" he asked genuinely.

Rumble turned away, unsure where to even begin with that question. But before he even had the chance to say anything, Ziggs continued. "Yeah. You seem pretty cool. I'm sure you'd fit right in. I mean, we have a catapult, you have an egg shooter. Hey! Where'd you get that from anyway?"

Rumble shrugged, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that they wanted to be friends with him. "I built it," he said off hand.

At the silence he looked up just in time to see Ziggs' face change from shocked to excited. "No way! You built it? Wow! You have to show me!"

Even Tristana looked impressed. "Could you bring it to school tomorrow?" she asked.

Rumble shook his head sadly, "Miss Pringer said she'd confiscate it if I brought it to school again." He watched them apprehensively, worried they wouldn't want to be friends with him because of his refusal.

While Ziggs and Tristana seemed a little disappointed at that Teemo just shrugged. "Maybe he could bring it on Friday?" he suggested.

Immediately Tristana and Ziggs brightened. "Oh yeah!"

Rumble, however, looked on confused. Upon seeing this Tristana explained, "Every Friday night Ziggs and Teemo stay over my place. Did you want to come? You could bring your egg shooter and we could show you our catapult. It'll be fun." She asked the last bit shyly, nervous that he'd reject the whole idea.

After the initial shock wore off however Rumble smiled. "Yeah. That would be great. I mean, if that's okay with your parents and all."

Tristana beamed, "I'm sure they'll be fine with it. But I'll ask them when they get here."

As if on cue the office door opened and an elegant woman flew in. Somehow managing to make frantic look prim and proper, the blue skinned lady strutted across the room, ignoring the others as she pulled Tristana into her arms. "Oh baby I heard what happened. Are you alright? Did you get hurt? On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?"

"I'm fine mum," Tristana's muffled voice emerged from her squished position as she glared at the snickering Ziggs and Teemo. "I got a couple of scratches that's all."

"That's all?" If Tristana thought that would calm her mother down she was sorely mistaken. Instead, her voice seemed to go up an octave as she continued, "Let me see! I need to know how bad it is!"

"Calm down Pearl and let her breathe," the steady voice of the white furred yordle following drew her attention.

"Calm down? How can I calm down? Look at what happened to my baby girl!" Gently she wiped the blood from Tristana's grazed cheek – the one she'd hit when Klive had slapped her – ignoring the way the girl tried to wriggle out of her grip. "I knew that riffraff would be a bad influence on you."

Tristana pulled back with a glare, "Don't say that! Teemo and Ziggs backed me up when I stood up for Rumble." She gestured to him, "He's our new friend."

Pearl's gaze followed her hand, the distain evident when it landed on his small form. Undeterred Rumble narrowed his eyes right back at her. "Oh," was all she said.

"That's an admirable thing to do Tristana," her father stepped forward, stopping the conversation from any further deterioration. He knelt down in front of her, "Just be careful to think before jumping in like that. You don't want to bite off more than you can chew."

"Yes father," she nodded. Pushing her luck, she asked, "So, can Rumble come over Friday with Ziggs and Teemo?"

Looking at the boy he smiled, "I don't see why not. If it's alright with his parents he's more than welcome to come over."

The four yordlings looked elated at that. Pearl, however, did not. "After what she just got herself into? Charlie, you can't just let-"

"You're right," he cut her off. "But here is not the sort of place to discuss it. We will talk about this more at home. Come on Tristana."

"Yes father," Tristana sighed. She waved to the others "Bye Ziggs. Bye Teemo. Bye Rumble. See you tomorrow. Hopefully," she added under her breath.

* * *

After Tristana left Rumble continued to talk to Teemo and Ziggs until, one by one, the others were picked up. Finally, after twenty minute sitting by himself, his parents rushed in. Unfortunately, neither of them had been able to get off work any earlier. At the sight of him injured and alone, Rosalyn knelt worriedly next to him. "Are you alright?" she asked gently.

He looked up at her with a genuine smile. "Yeah," he said. "I'm great."

* * *

**Things should settle down now. I've still got exams but nothing too hectic anymore. Finger's crossed the next chapter should be up in two weeks.**


	4. Getting to know you

**Author's note: Hey look: I actually got a chapter up on time :). Thank you again to all you wonderful reviewers and favouriters they just make my day :). The only thing I'm a bit sad about is that I can't reply to the couple of guest reviewers I've gotten. Just know I have been reading them :). Hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Ever since the incident on Monday Rumble hadn't found himself alone once that week. Every morning he would be greeted by the trio, who would drag him along in their whirl wind of escapades throughout the rest of the day. No longer were his breaks spent hidden away from the rest of the school, instead they were filled with laughter and passionate discussions and ideas. Classes too became more enjoyable: rather than enduring the boring inactivity he was used to, he would help the others with their work as they continued their conversations from lunch.

True, he'd been hesitant about the whole concept at first. With all he'd been through it was hard not to be. That's why he would never forget walking up to school the morning after, only to see the three of them waiting at the front gate for him. After spending so much time alone, that single unconscious action hit him harder than any flowery words ever could. In that moment, they won a little more of his hard earned trust. Even more surprising was that, throughout the week, that little trust had not been abused. Instead of the belittling he'd expected, they included him in a way no one ever had. And so, little by little, his wary silence had fallen away, leaving his usual quick-minded, opinionated self in its wake. Before long he'd earned his own niche in their group. Honestly, the whole thing was still quite overwhelming and more than a little odd, but despite everything, Rumble found himself thoroughly enjoying the change.

His parents too quickly picked up on his improved demeanour; his new fire and enthusiasm easing the deep seated fear both had carried for their son. As a result, it was no surprise that both were more than happy for him to stay over Tristana's place that weekend. And so, on Friday afternoon he found himself walking away from the school in the midst of the other three, his overnight bag slung over his shoulder and his egg shooter being passed around.

It wasn't all that impressive to look at, consisting of a simple PVC pipe barrel with a plastic trigger and handle attached, but the others were impressed with it.

"It's just a spring loaded action," Rumble explained as Ziggs passed it to Tristana. "The trigger releases the coiled spring to shoot the egg. Then all you have to do is slide this top part back to compress it again. It's not that hard to use, though you do have to be careful of the recoil."

"This is so cool!" Tristana grinned. "You're really clever Rumble."

Rumble blushed at the compliment before scrambling for a new topic, "So-ah, where are we going?"

"Well we usually we go straight to Tristana's house," Teemo answered him. "But today we're going to Ziggs place first cause that's where we left the catapult."

"Be warned," Ziggs laughed, "my house is a bit crazy."

'A bit crazy' was an understatement; the house was chaos. Ziggs was one of eight children (with four older and three younger siblings) all as hyperactive as him. To put it lightly, it was surprising the city hadn't cordoned off the area and declared it a disaster zone yet. All available surfaces were filled with random objects, books were stacked in hazardous piles on the floor and everywhere yordlings ran, filling the house with a cacophony of noise.

Despite this, the normally clumsy yordle manoeuvred through the chaos with ease. His friends followed more cautiously. Rumble, who'd never been there before, stuck especially close to the others. After a bit of tricky manoeuvring the four of them managed to make their way to the kitchen where Ziggs' mum was cooking. The brown-furred woman seemed unphased by the turmoil, expertly corralling children and cooking (all the while holding a baby on her hip) with practiced ease.

Ziggs ran up to her, giving her a tight hug, "Hi ma," he smiled up at her.

His mother paused in her work, returning his hug and smile, "Hello Ziggs. What are you doing here? I thought you were sleeping at your friend's house tonight."

"I am. But we wanted to show our new friend the catapult first. 'Member, I told you about him." He gestured to Rumble, "Ma, meet Rumble. Rumble this is my ma."

"Ah yes," she turned to Rumble with a smile, kneeling down to reach his height. "Hello Rumble. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi," Rumble gave a small wave. "Ah, thank you for having us over."

"Such lovely manners." Her smile grew, "As I've told the others: as a friend of Ziggs you are always welcome here." She stood up before addressing them all, "Now, would you kids like some cookies? I just made them."

A chorus of excited confirmations met her offer and several immediately disappeared from the tray as she lowered it.

Laughing at their enthusiasm, she placed the tray back on the counter; the action allowing her to catch a suspicious glimpse of her older set of twins as they passed the doorway. "You kids have fun now," she bade them goodbye before striding away. As she disappeared around the corner her echoing shout could be heard, "Kiara! Jos! You two stop that this instant!"

Sufficiently loaded down with cookies, the quartet headed out the kitchen door. The backyard was considerably quieter, the area consisting of a small open space that was covered in grass and toys. On one side a miniature catapult rose, while on the other side targets covered the fence. They headed to the catapult.

"Oh wow," Rumble said admiringly, examining the intricate details. The catapult stood about their head height, made from a sturdy wood and braced with metal joints. Each joint had an elaborate pattern etched into the metal creating an impressive image. "This is amazing. Who made it?"

"My pa did," Ziggs told him proudly. "He's a scientist so he makes lots of cool inventions but usually we're not allowed to touch them. When he has the time though he makes us all sorts of awesome toys. And my ma decorates them. Pretty cool huh."

"Yeah," Rumble agreed, before frowning. "So what were you doing with it at school?"

"Trying to water the gardens," was Teemo's brief answer.

Chuckling at Rumble's confused expression Tristana explained, "We managed to get it up on the roof of the main building. If you aim it right, from there you can hit the wooden climbing posts of the front garden and soak the plants underneath. We thought it might be a better and funner way of watering the plants. It was working too until we misfired and hit Miss Pringer instead. It landed on her head and soaked her completely."

Rumble laughed, "I wish I could have seen that."

"We could do it again if you want," Ziggs' eyes lit up with mischief.

"No Ziggs," Tristana told him firmly. "I'm in enough trouble at home as it is. If I go getting a detention I'll be grounded for a month at least."

Ziggs crossed his arms with a pout, "It was just a suggestion."

Teemo just shook his head with a chuckle at his friends' antics. Rumble however suddenly found the ground very interesting. "I'm sorry for getting you all in trouble," he apologised softly.

Tristana laughed, throwing her arm over his shoulders. "I'm not. If we hadn't we wouldn't have met you and we wouldn't be friends now. I'd do it again in a heartbeat even if it meant being grounded for _two_ months. Anyway, enough talking; I wanna shoot something."

* * *

They amused themselves for the next couple of hours firing paint balloons with the catapult. Out of the four of them Tristana's hits were by far the most accurate. However, Teemo's were the most consistent and Rumble's hit with the most force. Ziggs didn't even try for accuracy, amusing himself by trying to pull off all sorts of tricks shots.

As it started getting late they headed off to Tristana's place, arriving just before it began to get dark. Due to her parent's positions as Bandle City officials, the girl's house was situated in one of the richer areas of town. The house, or more aptly mansion, stood in white, elegant grandeur with a wide, trimmed garden out the front and balconies lining the second storey windows.

Rumble stared incredulously at the building. "This is your house?"

Ziggs and Teemo exchanged amused glances remembering their similar response, Tristana however just shrugged. "Yep," she said popping the p. Then, without further ado, she completely ignored the ostentatious front door and led the rest of them around the back and into the kitchen. "Honestly, I don't really like our house," she answered his question more fully. "It's too stuffy and fancy for my liking. I much prefer Ziggs' home."

"Well I think this place is awesome!" Ziggs responded. "You have heaps of space, and big fluffy beds. Oh and don't get me started on our stair sliding races!"

Tristana grinned, "Yeah that's pretty fun. I guess it's not so bad. But only when you guys are here."

They'd just settled at the table snacking on the left over cookies when Pearl walked in. Upon seeing them some of the tension drained from her form. "There you are," she said approaching. "I was getting worried when you didn't get in on time."

"Sorry mother," Tristana apologised. "We went to Ziggs' house first to play with the catapult."

Her mother's face tightened at her words and her mouth turned down in disapproval, "Tristana. You know how I feel about weapons."

The girl crossed her arms looking away, "They're just water balloons. It's not like they're going to hurt anyone."

"As your mother I get to decide on your wellbeing. Yes they may only be water balloons but what next? Where am I supposed to draw the line? You're only six Tristana, it's my job to take care of you; which means you listen to my rules," Pearl lectured. She paused, sending her daughter a meaningful look, "It also means that you tell me when you plan on going somewhere."

"If I'd told you, you wouldn't have let me go," Tristana muttered under her breath.

Unfortunately, her mother still heard. "Watch your tone young lady. You're in enough trouble as it is. You're lucky you're even allowed friends over this weekend. After everything that's happened this week you were in no position to just disappear without either your father or myself knowing. If that happens again I don't care what Charlie says, you're not going anywhere by yourself anymore. Do you understand?"

Sighing, Tristana nodded, "Yes mother."

"Good." Her tone softened, "Now, dinner's almost ready. Why don't you and your friends put your stuff in the lounge room and go wash up. Then we can eat."

"Yes mother," Tristana said shortly.

She gestured to the others before walking abruptly out the door.

As she stormed ahead Rumble gave the other two a questioning look. "What was all that about?" he asked quietly.

"Trist and her ma don't really get along," Ziggs explained in a whisper.

Rumble snorted, "I got that part. What I don't get is why."

"It's because her mum's a city official," Teemo elaborated. "Image means a lot to her so she's always trying to get Tristana to act more lady-like. Tristana doesn't like it though cause she's happy the way she is. But her mum won't let her do the things she wants and is always trying to get her to do things she doesn't like. So they tend to fight a lot."

"You should have seen it when Trist told her ma that she wanted to be a Megling Gunner when she grew up. She threw a fit. I think her exact words were," here Ziggs drew himself up, pulling his ears back and looking down his nose at them, "No daughter of mine is going to throw away a chance to significantly contribute to society just to become a common soldier with no future. Not only is it uncouth and dangerous it's downright idiotic and I've bred you better than that."

Rumble looked at him sceptically, "She didn't say that. Did she?"

"It's true!" Ziggs exclaimed, "I even wrote it down so I could look up the words I didn't know at home."

"It did sound a lot that," Teemo agreed. "Only much longer."

The brown-furred yordle nodded, "It took Tristy's pa _four hours_ to calm them both down."

"I'm starting to be glad she's not my ma," Rumble commented.

"She's not that bad," Teemo shrugged.

Ziggs however made a sound of disagreement, "Honestly, I'd rather not have a ma than have Trist's mother."

At his words Teemo stiffened and stopped dead in his tracks. "That's not funny," he whispered.

Realising what he'd said, Ziggs' face morphed into a guilty expression. "I'm sorry Teemo. I didn't mean- I just didn't think."

"It's fine," Teemo looked away.

"Wait what?" Rumble blurted out confused. "What'd I miss?"

Ziggs looked hesitantly at Teemo but the kit simply shrugged. "I'm an orphan." The statement was so matter of fact but at the same time all three of them could hear the sadness underlying the words.

"Oh," Rumble wasn't sure what to say to that. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's alright," Teemo gave him a small smile. "I don't really miss them. Kinda hard to when you've never known them. And I've lived at the orphanage as long as I can remember so it's not that bad."

"What's it like? Living at the orphanage?" Rumble suddenly asked out of curiosity.

"Well there are lots of kids," Teemo told him, "and not much privacy. But you don't get lonely. The caretaker is really nice too. Except she doesn't really have a lot of time for us, 'cause there's so many. And it's hard to get close to anyone else 'cause most aren't there very long. It's not that bad though – just… not like having a family." Pausing, he dropped his gaze to the floor as his arms came up around himself. He continued in a soft voice, "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like: to have a real family. To have a mum and a dad … and to be loved."

Soft arms came around him. Apparently Tristana had calmed down enough to catch the end of their conversation and being the caring person she was, immediately turned to comfort her friend. "Don't worry Teemo. I know there's a family out there that's going to want to adopt you one day. And until then we'll be your family. Cause family sticks together no matter what."

The moment held for about a minute before Ziggs ruined it. "That was so cheesy," he cackled.

In response Tristana simply pushed him over. That only made him laugh harder and very soon the two of them were pushing and shoving their way through the lounge room doors at the end of the hall leaving Teemo and Rumble standing there.

"Family," Teemo breathed. "I could get used to that."

"Yeah," Rumble nodded. "Me too."

The two of them shared a meaningful look before both turned to where the other two had gone, glimpsing the impromptu pillow fight that had started.

"Come on we better hurry," Teemo spoke. "Tristana's mum may be a stick-in-the-mud but her cooking is amazing."

* * *

**There you go :). Let me know what you thought. And thank you: you're all amazing :D.**


	5. Patience is a virtue

**Author's note: Hey guys, sorry the chapter's a little late. I've been away on holidays :). **

**This chapter you get to meet two new (sorta) characters. Are you excited? 'Cause I'm excited. This is one of my favourite chapters to date. Unfortunately it does mean some of the others characters need to take a back seat for a little bit, but don't worry you'll see them again soon. **

**Anyway, the support for this fic has been phenomenal, it really makes me smile. So I really hope you enjoy :).**

* * *

Poppy let out a long breath, feeling her shoulders relax as she started walking away from the school. She couldn't wait to get home. School was all well and good but her classmates were so noisy and immature. She much preferred the time she spent with her dad in the forge, learning his trade from him and conversing with his regular customers. At least they knew how to hold a proper conversation and the meaning of silence. She mentally shrugged, figuring her classmates would grow up eventually.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't register the incoming footsteps until they were right next to her.

"Hi," the bright voice pulled the rest of her attention back to the present. Glancing to her left she was greeted by the sight of the brown furred yordling walking beside her, mentally taking in his messy brown hair and almost bouncing walk. His blue eyes sparkled with energy and curiosity as he continued, "I'm Kennen. What's your name?"

"Poppy," she replied shortly, unsure what to make of him. He looked vaguely familiar, most likely he was one of her many classmates. Even after six years of schooling she hadn't really learnt to tell them all apart.

Kennen however didn't seem to notice her hesitation. Instead his eyes lit up bright as did his smile. "Oh that's a pretty name. Are you named after the flower? I know this must seem kinda random but I've seen you around before. We have a couple of classes together, did you know that? I've seen you in there trying to bore holes through the white board with your eyes. Why do you do that? Do you even know you're doing it? What was I saying? Oh yes. I've see you walking this way home almost every single day this way but you're always walking alone so I thought you might like some company," he rambled on before pausing for a breath.

Poppy raised an eyebrow at the speech. "No. Yes. No. I guess if you want," she listed off, hoping that he would either calm down soon or get bored of her short answers and run off somewhere else. Above all she dearly hoped he couldn't keep that sort of pace up the whole way home.

Unfortunately for her it seemed he could. His incessant chatter continued for the entire trip, only pausing long enough for a breath and to hear her response. Not that her increasingly shorter answers seemed to give him the hint to shut up and go away. In the end she just started ignoring him completely, though even that didn't have the effect she was hoping for. He just kept talking, seemingly content to keep the conversation going by himself.

Finally, he paused. The lack of movement and noise drawing Poppy's tried and tired focus. "My home is down that way," he pointed down the adjoining street, "so I have to go now. But I enjoyed talking to you. See you tomorrow Poppy!" And before she could even respond he'd rushed off, leaving her on the corner in bewilderment. With a sigh she continued walking on her own, grateful for the small moment of peace she had to herself.

Despite her slow pace she reached the forge not long after, stopping in the doorway to enjoy the heat washing over her as she watched her dad work away. She'd grown up in this forge, wandering around her dad's feet even as a baby. Her earliest memories were of his low booming voice and the ringing of metal on metal; of the firelight and the heat; and the smell of smoke and iron. Nothing else felt as much like home and nothing could calm her down more than being here. It was her haven; her sanctuary.

As she watched Blomgrun doused the piece he was working on before turning to her with a smile.

"Hello Poppy," he greeted her, opening his arms in invitation.

Crossing the room without a thought she gave him a hug, feeling his strong arms surround her. "Hi daddy."

He chuckled, "So how was your day? Make any new friends?"

Poppy thought about the young kit Kennen that had walked home with her. "Nope," she answered.

* * *

Unfortunately for her, her new "non-friend" obviously didn't get that memo. Every day, without fail, he'd find her as she was leaving school to walk with her. And every day, without fail, he would talk nonstop the entire trip.

Poppy honestly didn't know how he did it. How it was he could find so many things to talk about. And how it was he had the energy to bounce around the whole time without taking a breath. Regardless, it was driving her insane. She'd given up on subtlety a while ago but even the direct approach wasn't working. He just didn't seem to get that she wanted nothing to do with him. Why couldn't he understand that his mere presence was rapidly deteriorating her patience and courtesy? Honestly, some days she got home about ready to pull her hair out.

Her increasingly sour mood hadn't gone unnoticed by her dad either. Several times he'd raised his eyebrows at her when she'd stormed in, causing her to take a couple of deep breaths to control her temper. He hadn't commented on it though and Poppy hadn't really been in the mood to explain.

Not that it mattered at the moment however. Finally, after a week of incredible composure and endurance, it was the weekend: meaning two full days of peace with her dad. Currently the two of them were in the forge, where Blomgrun was teaching her some of the finer arts of blacksmithing.

Guiding her hands over the spare piece of iron they were practicing on, the big yordle couldn't help smiling at his daughter's solemn countenance. She was always so serious and focused; it amused him to see such expressions on her young face. The girl was the centre of his life – had been since his wife's passing – it made him so proud to see the person she was becoming. She was kind, loyal, level-headed (most of the time) and much more mature than her age. Her maturity was something that made him both happy and sad to see in her. It was a good trait to have, allowing her to act more rationally in situations most yordlings would struggle in. However, sometimes he wished she could be a little more carefree and child-like. After all, she would only be a child for so long. He wanted her to enjoy it while she could. Only, she just didn't seem interested in spending time with yordles her own age. He'd spent years trying to imperceptibly push her to make friends but she simply rebuked all his actions stubbornly keeping to herself. Honestly, he was at his wits end on what to try next.

"Ho Blomgrun, are you here?" A friendly voice called from the front, breaking him from his musings. With a single nod to Poppy he slid from his spot, rounding the corner to see a dark furred male with pointed ears.

He grinned, clasping the male's arm firmly. "Swifty, long time no see. What brings you here?"

The other yordle returned his greeting with as much fervour. "I need some equipment fixed," he gestured to his bag. "They've lasted me a while but now most of it's starting to go. Figured I'd turn it all in at the same time. Hope it's not too much of a challenge."

Blomgrun chuckled, "For the best smith in all of Bandle City? I doubt it. Plus I like a good challenge now and then." He picked up the bag, rummaging through the items. "So," he continued, examining a dagger with a sharp eye, "Still in the scouts then?"

"Yes. And not planning to retire anytime soon. I still have several good years left in me."

Blomgrun grinned, "Glad to hear it."

Seeing Poppy by the door, he motioned her over. "Poppy meet Miles. He and I were good friends in high school. Miles, this is my daughter Poppy."

"It's nice to meet you," Poppy shook his hand.

"So this is where you live," an exuberant voice sounded, making Poppy freeze. Then, from behind Miles came the bane of her existence. "Hi Poppy," Kennen waved happily. Poppy simply glared.

"Blomgrun," Miles gestured. "This is my son Kennen. And it seems he already knows Poppy."

"Uh huh," Kennen nodded to his dad. "Poppy and I are in the same class at school. And we walk home together. You have a really neat house by the way."

"Really now?" Blomgrun smiled. He ignored Poppy's stricken look as she rapidly shook her head back and forth, her pigtails flying out behind her from the momentum. He was a smart man, more than capable of putting the kit's words and his daughter's recent behaviour together to work out what was going on. And with that knowledge a new plan started to form. He knew his daughter was stubborn but she needed to spend some time with other kids her age – even if she needed a little push. "Well," he clasped his hands together. "Any friend of Poppy's is welcome here. Would you like to stay for a while?"

"Really?" Kennen asked excitedly.

"Really?" Poppy's echo was full of horror.

"Are you sure that's alright?" Miles asked. "Kennen can be quite a handful."

Blomgrun chuckled, "So was I when I was younger. Yet my dad still put up with me. I wouldn't be doing him any justice if I didn't do the same. And Poppy would benefit from spending some time with someone her age. Just come back this afternoon. You can pick up your equipment and your son."

"Alright." Miles conceded shaking the smith's hand once more. "Thanks Blomgrun. You be good Kennen."

"I will," the smaller yordle waved goodbye to his dad before bouncing after Blomgrun to the back of the forge. Behind them, Poppy sullenly followed only to find the menace running around the room, looking at everything and asking a million questions.

Blomgrun simply chuckled at his actions, patiently answering his questions before he called the boy over to watch as he started fixing the equipment. Both ignored Poppy's glare as Blomgrun started talking. "Working with metal requires patience and endurance. You need the physical strength and energy to mould the metal to your will, but they must also be tempered with a calm mind. Otherwise you will tire too easily and your work will become messy. Keep your hands steady and focus. Your work should be the centre of your focus. Listen to what it is telling you; there is only so much shaping a metal can take. At the same time, never forget about your surroundings. The forge is a dangerous place and you may need to move quickly out of the way of something. Now, this dagger has a flaw near its centre – an open pocket that's been weakened by use. That needs to be fixed, though it will never be as good as it was. Firstly the metal needs to be heated." The smith's instructions continued as he worked, explaining the basics as he fixed the scout's equipment.

Kennen, for his part, was no longer bouncing around. Instead he was almost standing calmly, focused completely on Blomgrun's words. The only sign of movement was the occasional twitch of his ear as he watched the yordle work with wide, curious eyes; the constant flow of new information stilling his form.

Eventually however Blomgrun stopped, turning to the two children. "I'm sure that's enough out of me. Why don't you two go play outside while I finish up."

Kennen brightened, immediately seizing upon the idea. "Ok cool! Thank you!" he called, pulling Poppy along behind him before she could say anything. Blomgrun laughed quietly to himself at her last pained expression before turning back to his work.

* * *

**And there you have it. Sorry it's a bit shorter than normal. Let me know what you think :)**


	6. Break through

**Author's note: Thanks for all your reviews, though some of you really need to get accounts. The amount of guest reviews I haven't been able to reply to makes me really sad. I hope I can make it up to you with another chapter :). Sorry it's a bit short but I had to chop the last one in two. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

To say that Poppy's mood had not improved over the next few days would be an understatement. Instead of calming down with time, she seemed to be winding herself up as she stalked around like a storm cloud, brooding over her current dilemma.

She knew her dad thought she was being stubborn and childish but in her mind, her mood was completely justified. After all, it was bad enough that she had to put up with furry pest every day walking home from school but now he'd even invaded her home. And her dad had encouraged him! Somehow he'd lost his mind, missed all her warning signs and invited the nuisance to keep pestering her. And he thought she was being childish? After everything she'd been through she should get an award for acting so mature; for being patient and not punching the kit in the face like she _really_ wanted to. Her fists twitched at the thought. It was tempting. Oh so tempting, especially with this unnatural silence aggravating her to no end.

_Silence?_ The thought pulled her up short. Taking in her surroundings, the blue yordling narrowed her eyes. _It's too quiet._

Ever since she's met the boy he hadn't missed a single day of making her life miserable by walking with her. And yet, here she was heading home for the day and no Kennen. So where was the pest?

She looked around warily, in no mood for his tricks. If he jumped out at her in a childish (yet successful) attempt to scare her again she was going to punch him so hard he'd be unconscious for a week. A small part of her hoped he would. Not only would she have an excuse to hit him but she'd finally have some peace for a while.

Even as she thought this however, she spotted his pointed ears and messy brown hair amoungst the other students. Catching sight of him her eyes narrowed further, but for a completely different reason. Something was wrong. His mouth was shut and his movements subdued, two characteristics she'd never seen from the kit. She looked on, noticing what she thought might be a grimace of pain surface every now and then on his face. His pinned back ears only confirmed this suspicion and as the yordle approached Poppy could see him cradling his left arm.

"Hey Poppy," he mumbled upon reaching her, trying to keep his voice light.

"What's wrong?" she asked, disregarding the pleasantry.

"Nothing's wrong," he grimaced, going to move past her.

Poppy blocked his path, her blue eyes narrowing. "Don't lie to me. I can see that something's wrong. Now let me see your arm." She reached for the arm in question but before she could grab it Kennen jumped back with a yelp of pain.

"I didn't even touch it you big baby," she said in exasperation. "Now stay still."

Reluctantly he complied. Poppy took his wrist lightly, before running a finger gently along his forearm. About halfway up a lump protruded and when the girl's finger ran over it, it moved just slightly. Instinctively Kennen pulled back with a hiss of pain, cradling the arm close to himself again.

"Definitely broken," Poppy informed him. "What did you do?"

His cheeks flushed with embarrassment before he looked away mumbling under his breath.

"What?"

"I said," Kennen started again louder. "I fell out of a tree."

Poppy stared at him for a full minute before she tilted her head back and burst out laughing. Her white pigtails shook from her mirth as the sunlight glinted off of her eyes.

Kennen's ears to rose and fell in surprise. He'd never heard her laugh before: honestly he kinda liked it, though he wasn't all that thrilled about her laughing _at_ him. "Hey, it's not that funny."

She shook her head as she tried to subdue her laughter. "Sorry," she chuckled, "but only you would end up breaking your arm that way." Finally she got her laughter under control, leaving only a smile on her face. "Come on. Let's get you to the hospital."

At her words, the boy's ears pinned down again as he drew back. "We don't have to go to the hospital do we?"

Poppy paused thoughtfully, "Well, we don't have to. We can go to my dad's forge and have him cut the arm off instead if you want."

"The hospital's fine," he replied quickly.

* * *

The two of them were silently sitting in the emergency department waiting for the doctor to see Kennen's broken arm. Covertly, Poppy watched him from the corner of her eyes. He had been silent for most of the walk to the hospital. Silent and lethargic. Even now he hadn't said a word and only the occasional fidget belayed his usually energetic nature.

It made the girl slightly disconcerted seeing the lively yordle so subdued. She realised with sudden insight that he must be in a great deal of pain to be so quiet. This revelation surprised Poppy. While most of the yordlings their age would still cry and scream in anguish from such an occurrence, Kennen hadn't made any fuss, instead acting with a degree of rationality about the situation. Honestly, it stunned her considering how immature he acted normally. With a tinge of regret she admitted to herself that she might have misjudged him. However, Poppy didn't dwell on the thought long. Despite how well he was handling the situation, any distraction would help take his mind off the pain. And so she talked to him.

Kennen was naturally a talker; one did not need to know him long to realise that and Poppy had been putting up with his chatter for seven days straight. Despite how much effort Poppy had put into ignoring him, she had retained most of what he'd said. As a result she knew almost everything there was to know about the boy. She knew he was in the seventh grade same as her and that he had turned eleven in February. She knew he was an only child who lived with his mum and dad at the edge of Bandle City. That his mum worked as an ICU nurse in this very hospital and that his dad was in the Bandle City Scouts; they'd met when the scout had been recovering at the hospital from a mission twenty or so years ago. She also knew the hazel coloured kit was fast, energetic, loved to play pranks, run and talk and that he was prone to breaking the rules (not that he'd been caught). She knew he often got distracted in school and wasn't great at his work – mainly due to a lack of attention; and yet, despite his short attention span, he was a quick learner and, when he wanted to, and could pick up on and retain a good deal of information. She also knew that the only subjects he really enjoyed were geography and sport.

Poppy however, was not a talker. She liked her privacy and enjoyed spending her time in silence. And due to her perpetual annoyance at his chatter she'd been even less inclined to talk to Kennen. So despite everything she knew about him, Poppy had never told Kennen much about herself. So now she did.

She told him about her dad and about the forge: of all the things she'd been taught to do so far and of the things she was looking forward to doing herself. She told him about her other hobbies, how she enjoyed reading in the evenings and watching league matches with her dad on their crystal screen. She even told him about her mum. She talked to him about what she was like (that she could remember) and how she'd died when she was quite young. Confessing the things she missed about her despite how close she was to her dad. And about how she didn't really talk about it because she knew her dad missed her a great deal too and that it hurt to see him so sad every time she was mentioned.

Kennen hung on to her words, thankful for the distraction and curious to learn more about the serious girl that was opening up to him. He was smarter than most gave him credit for: he knew that his energetic and talkative nature could put yordles off; that most found it tiresome to try and keep up with him. It was why, while he got along well with most of his classmates, he didn't really have any permanent friends. But that was just the way he was, and trying to supress his speed didn't work out for anyone. So he'd gotten over it. But the pale blue girl had intrigued him. She was different to all his other classmates. She didn't seem interested in the things the other yordling girls were into and she was the only other yordle in their grade to really keep to herself. Then there was the fact she never really smiled. Like never. And Kennen had been watching her for a while. So he'd approached her. His curiosity pushing him to stubbornly ignore her attempts to push him away.

_I didn't think it would take falling out of a tree and breaking my arm to get her to open up a bit more though,_ he thought ruefully, before both his and Poppy's attention were drawn to the approaching nurse. They followed her through to the back room to get an x-ray of his arm, where Poppy once again picked up her story: this time telling him about the time her dad had decided to teach her blacksmithing.

Kennen's eyes widened in fear when the doctor held his arm ready to set the bone, but Poppy simply raised her voice, dragging his attention back to her. The kit cried out once before relaxing again, the relief from the pain obvious on his face and in his finally upright ears.

He chuckled weakly upon hearing about her disastrous first attempt. "I can't believe that actually happened to you. It kinda reminds me of that joke about the Minotaur in the china shop. Have you heard it?"

Poppy shook her head looking a little sheepish. "I actually don't know any jokes," she admitted.

Kennen stared at her in disbelief before exclaiming, "No way! Really? Not one? Well I've got to fix that! Knock knock...You're supposed to say who's there."

* * *

From that point on, Kennen's jokes continued for the majority of the afternoon. Most of them were pretty basic and even more Poppy didn't find funny. But for once the girl didn't mind the chatter. Once Kennen's mum got off work she picked them up, offering to drop Poppy home in thanks for all her help.

"So, are you coming to school tomorrow?" Poppy asked once they reached her house.

"Probably," Kennen nodded. He paused briefly, "I'll see you on the walk home?"

Poppy smiled, "Yeah, see you then."

* * *

**Thank you all for your continued support :)**


	7. A family worth waiting for

**Author's note: I'm so sorry for not updating for so long but I just been so busy. Between work and social events and being sick I just haven't had much time to myself. Not to mention I had major writer's block on this chapter, ugh, it took me so long to get it to be anything I was happy with. I'm still not completely happy with it but it's good enough. I hope you enjoy and I'm sorry again for taking so long.**

* * *

Nina stood outside the orphanage with a hand-full of other nurses, ready for the home's annual check-up.

The capital's only orphanage lay at the edge of the city up against the outer wall. The building was bigger than most of the other houses in the area; however, it wasn't that large, mainly due to the limited number of yordles it held. Bandle City was relatively small for a capital city, safe from most outside threats and with a relatively low crime rate. As a result very few incidents occurred that removed both parents from a yordling's life; and since the yordle race naturally had strong social and communal ties, most children had somewhere to go should something occur. Never the less, the city had still needed a place for those few exceptions to live, thus producing the government funded building.

Though the basic monetary needs were funded by the government, many other needs and luxuries were provided by the community including their annual medical check-up.

At the beginning of every winter several nurses volunteered to give the orphans their free medical check-up and their vaccinations as well as to analyse the health plan of the establishment. Since the kindly caretaker had been running the orphanage for decades, nowadays the whole thing was more of a custom then a necessity.

Still, Nina enjoyed volunteering. It brought her joy to be able to provide the children with the care and love they deserved; and, she thought upon catching sight of a familiar face, it also gave her the opportunity to catch up with old acquaintances too.

"Rosalyn!" she called out waving to the blue furred female hurrying to the house.

Rosalyn's face broke into a grin as she walked over to her. "Nina," she greeted. "I haven't seen you since you moved wards. How have you been?"

"Busy," the female replied ruefully, "But that's normal, so I can't complain. How about you?"

"I've been well," Rosalyn smiled, "Chuck's had some time off from the chop shop with us, which is nice, and Rumble's doing much better."

"I heard you were having a bit of trouble with him. What happened?" Nina asked as they headed inside.

"He was having some trouble with the bullies at school but he's found a nice group of friends now, much to our relief. Things haven't been anywhere near as bad lately."

Nina could tell, even though Rosalyn had never said anything about how bad the situation was, her demeanour had spoken volumes. The last time she'd seen her friend, there had been a constant underlying tenseness in her every movement. Now however her movements were more light and carefree.

"How about your son?" she continued. "Is he still as hyperactive as I remember?"

"More if you can believe it," Nina shook her head. "But he did make a new friend recently who's helped calm him down some. Now at least he pauses to think before jumping headfirst into situations, no matter how brief."

Rosalyn laughed.

They continued to talk as they walked through the main hallway headed towards the rooms they would be using. As they did a young kit ran up to them. He was a cute child with pale cream fur, orange eye patches and the biggest blue eyes Nina had ever seen.

"Hi Rumble's mum," he greeted Rosalyn. "I didn't know you were a nurse."

"Hello Teemo," the blue female knelt down to his level, "How are you?"

"Good thank you. And you?" he recited courteously, bringing a smile to both nurse's faces.

"I'm well. Thank you for asking." Catching Nina's curious look Rosalyn continued, "Teemo I'd like to introduce you to my friend Nina. Nina this is Teemo, one of Rumble's new friends."

"It's nice to meet you," he said politely, shyly holding out his hand.

Nina felt her smile grow at his gesture, before shaking it. Kneeling next to Rosalyn she spoke, "Hello Teemo, it's nice to meet you too. You have lovely manners."

The pale kit scuffed his foot along the tiles, "Thank you."

"So Teemo, how old are you?" Nina asked.

"I'm six and a half," he announced proudly, "Same age as Rumble. Do you have a son?"

"Yes I do. But he's a bit older than you. He's eleven. Have you lived here long?"

Teemo shrugged, "As long as I can remember." He glanced over his shoulder at the clock behind him, "I need to go to lunch now. It was nice meeting you."

"You too Teemo." Nina smiled as his called goodbye as he ran off. In her mind an idea was starting to form. And no matter what Miles said she was determined to go through with it.

* * *

"Looks like everything is in order," Lila Whitmore, the home's caretaker smiled. "Just fill in the rest of those forms and you can come pick him up Monday afternoon."

Teemo turned to the two older yordles that sat adjacent to him, unable to really believe what was happening.

The pale furred female turned to him with a smile, "I guess I'll see you Monday then. How exciting."

Teemo shot her a shy smile.

Kneeling to his level Nina looked at him seriously, "You're alright with this aren't you? We don't have to go through with this if you're not-"

He cut her off with a quick hug, "You have no idea how much I want this. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

She chuckled, "Well I'm glad."

The dark furred yordle moved forward too, ruffling the boy's hair. "We're looking forward to having you as a part of our family," Miles told him.

With a final wave the two yordles departed, "See you Monday."

* * *

Kennen burst into Poppy's house literally bouncing off the walls. "Poppy! You'll never guess what happened! Come on guess! Guess!"

The pigtailed yordling raised an eyebrow at him, "Your parents finally had you tested."

"Hey!" he pouted causing Poppy to laugh.

"I'm kidding. So what is it?"

His mood instantly brightened. "I'm getting a brother! My parents are adopting him. I'm going to be a big brother! Can you believe it?"

Poppy smiled, "That's great Kennen."

"I know! His name is Teemo and he's six. My mum met him when she volunteered at the orphanage and he's coming home on Monday." All of a sudden he paused, his expression growing nervous, "What if he doesn't like me?"

Poppy shook her head, "He'll like you just fine Kennen. Don't worry about it."

Kennen didn't look convinced, "Will you come with me? When he comes home that is. I don't what to face him alone."

"If it'll make you feel better. But I don't think you'll need it," Poppy told him.

Kennen gave her a quick hug. "Thanks Poppy. You're the best friend ever!"

* * *

"Guys!" Teemo bounded up to his friends, a huge grin on his face, "You never going to believe it: I'm being adopted!"

"Oh my gosh!" Tristana squealed. "Congratulations!" The blue yordling threw herself at her friend, both of them laughing hysterically as they bounced around in a circle. With a cackle of his own gleeful laughter Ziggs propelled himself towards the group hug, pulling Rumble along with him as he pushed the other two over with his momentum. The four of them lay on the ground in a tangle of limbs revelling in the joy of their friend's amazing news.

As their laughter died down, the group got to their feet. "I'm getting picked up this afternoon," Teemo explained to them as Rumble helped Tristana to her feet.

"You excited?" Ziggs asked.

"Yeah," Teemo grinned widely before his smile faded away. "And a little nervous. Actually, I'm a lot nervous. I've never been adopted before."

"You'll be fine," Tristana gave him a quick hug. "I'm sure they'll be great."

"We'll make sure of that," Rumble assured him, half-humorously.

"So," Tristana asked excitedly, as they started towards class, "What're they like."

Teemo's demeanour brightened, "They seem really nice. The lady's a nurse and the man's a scout and they have a son too, so I'm going to have an older brother..."

* * *

Teemo sat in the back of the car as Nina drove him home, a multitude of emotions stirring up inside of him.

He couldn't believe he'd been adopted. After so many years living in the orphanage a large part of him felt like he was dreaming. In fact he'd pinched himself many times already just to check he wasn't. The other part of him, however, was too consumed by his overwhelming emotions to wonder about how real the situation was.

Excitement was his strongest feeling: the thought of having a real, loving family for the first time filled him with an eagerness to experience it for himself. He couldn't wait to meet them all; and yet, at the same time, he didn't want to meet them at all. Fear was the second most prominent thing he felt. He was worried the others wouldn't like him; worried they would give him back; worried they wouldn't be nice. A whole bunch of 'what if's ran through his mind, each one increasing his anxiety so when the moment the vehicle stopped, Teemo found himself frozen in fear.

He turned his wide eyes to Nina when she opened the door, unable to voice his thoughts. She understood, simply smiling at him encouragingly before taking his hand. Together they walked towards the house, Teemo gripping her hand like a life-line.

The structure was smaller than usual but the large garden made up for the house's lack of size. At the front of the house three yordles stood. A boy with brown fur and blue eyes stood fidgeting in the middle before the girl with blue skin and white pigtails nudged him sharply, causing him to stop. The man sent them both a stern look before walking towards them. His fur was a darker brown than the boy's but he had the same blue eyes.

As he approached, Teemo found himself hiding partially behind Nina's slight frame.

"Hello again Teemo," he said evenly upon reaching them. "Welcome to our family. I'm Miles; do you remember me?"

Teemo gave him a timid wave and a nod.

Miles smiled before gesturing behind him, "This is Kennen, our son and his friend Poppy."

"It's nice to meet you," Teemo said shyly.

"You too," Kennen replied before falling silent, the usually talkative yordle unsure what to say.

As the silence stretched on Nina decided to take action, "Kennen, why don't you show Teemo around the house. Get him settled in."

Kennen's eyes instantly brightened at the idea before Teemo suddenly found himself being pulled along behind the older yordling, Poppy following them close behind.

Now that he had something to do, Kennen's nervousness slipped away till he was his usual energetic, bubbly self. He pulled Teemo around talking nonstop about their home, life and how the young kit would fit into it. His straightened shoulders and grin displayed his joy and determination to fulfil his responsibility as a big brother and ensure Teemo settled in comfortably. Behind him Teemo listened in rapt attention, his face showing the awe and excitement Kennen's stories were producing.

As she watched the two new brothers interact Poppy simply shook her head. To think they'd both been so nervous about meeting.

* * *

**And there you have it. So I have some good news and bad news for you guys. Bad news is next chapter is the last one in this story :(. The good news is I have a new story that continues on from this one coming up next :). I've decided that splitting them into individual stories will make them more manageable, especially as I will be focusing on individual characters a bit more as I go on. Anyway, let me know what you think.**

**I've decided that due to the amount of guest reviews I get that I'll answer them here. So:**

**Dalarrin: Don't worry, I will be including Gnar. Though I must warn you: he's a long way off. I'm afraid I won't be getting to him anytime soon. Sorry. I haven't found any great fanfictions of him though there are a couple of ask blogs on tumblr and a twitter one that I feel portray him very nicely.**

**ShiftySpot: Haha thanks. I'm really glad you think I've captured them well so far. Poppy was so much fun to write. **


	8. As time goes by

**Author's note: Hello, I'm actually on time! And as a gift to all you wonderful readers (since this is the last chapter of this first story), you get a longer chapter! :D! I can't tell you how much I love this one. It's a little different from my previous ones but I feel like it's a good way to close off this one while also teasing some things to come :). So with that: enjoy!**

* * *

Nina beheld the scene before her with a smile. True, the lounge room was a mess: toys, books and games were scattered about as a result of the two brother's activities. But despite the fact that she was the one to most likely clean the place up, the sight of her two children, at this moment, was truly heart-warming. The culprits of the chaos were currently sitting in front of the fire, drying their fur from the water fight they'd had earlier; Teemo's head on Kennen's shoulder, with Kennen's own resting atop of it. Both were sound asleep, completely exhausted from the day's events.

Silently the pale, female yordle moved toward the pair, pulling Teemo gently up to rest in her arms. He sighed once in his sleep before snuggling further into her warmth, his head nuzzling up against the side of her neck. Once Nina was sure he was secure she softly shook Kennen's shoulder, causing him to look up at her with sleepy blue eyes.

"Bedtime sweetie."

He nodded once with a yawn before following her to the bedroom and promptly crashing head first on his bed, fast asleep. With another fond smile, Nina simply tucked them both in and kissed them goodnight.

Closing the bedroom door, she affectionately recalled the antics and laughter of the day. Yes, she decided: the decision to adopt Teemo had definitely been a good one.

* * *

Ziggs and Tristana stood up against a wall near the school gate, waiting for Teemo and Rumble to meet them so they could head back to Tristana's place for the night.

With exaggerated covertness, Tristana glanced over at Ziggs before whispering, "Did you get it?"

Just as much overstated discreteness, Ziggs unzipped the top of his bag to show the top of a miniature MG cannon to her. "My older brother Meelo said he'd show you how to use it. We're going to keep it in my room so your mum doesn't find out about it." Zipping the bag back up, he gave her his trade mark grin, "Happy birthday Trist."

Breaking their surreptitious charade Tristana launched herself at Ziggs, pulling him into a bone crushing hug. "Ziggs, you're the bomb."

* * *

_Quietly, _he thought, being extra cautious to keep his already light steps even softer. He stuck close to the wall, trying to stay out of sight in the little cover their shadows gave him. _So far so good. _However he knew the hardest part was still to come.

Coming up to the opening, Rumble discretely checked the impending area for danger. Nothing moved in the dim room however causing him to relax. Seemed like he was in luck. Quickly he scurried across the lounge, hoping to make it to his room before anyone noticed.

Just as he was a few steps from the hall, the light turned on. "Rumble?" The voice from the doorway caused him to freeze. Guiltily he turned to face his mum.

Rosalyn's eyes widened as she took in the sight of his wounds. "Oh honey," she breathed, walking closer, "I thought the bullying had stopped."

Rumble simply shook his head, "No. It's just not as often now. Only when I'm alone; like when the others have something on or I'm coming back from the junkyard."

"Why didn't you tell us?" the older blue yordle asked, checking his split lip.

His eyes found the ground and he shrugged. "I didn't want to worry you."

Rosalyn stopped her examination to look him directly in the eyes, lifting his chin up in the process. "Rumble, you're my baby. I'll always worry about you."

"I'm seven mama, I'm not a baby."

She pulled him into a hug, "No matter how old you get, you'll always be my baby."

* * *

"Hey Poppy, I'll race you home," Kennen suggested eagerly.

"No," Poppy said firmly.

Kennen pouted, "Aw, why not?"

The girl raised an eyebrow at him, "Because you always win."

"I'll give you a head start."

"How about we have an arm wrestle when we get back instead," Poppy suggested.

"But you always win those," Kennen grumbled.

Poppy laughed, "That's the point. Three-two-one-go!"

She took off leaving Kennen confused for a few moments.

"Hey! No fair!" he called after her.

"You said I could have a head start!" her voice drifted back.

Grinning, Kennen put on a burst of speed, quickly catching up and overtaking her. "See you at home Poppy!"

"Show off!"

* * *

Rosalyn and Chuck were sitting around Nina and Milo's dining room table, as the two nurses caught up together. Outside, Teemo and Rumble were playing close to the window, allowing all four of them to keep an eye on the boys.

Smiling at their antics, Rosalyn turned to the others. "It seems Teemo is fitting quite nicely into your family. I'm so glad everything turned out alright with him."

"Us too," Nina nodded.

Watching them somewhat pensively, Chuck commented in his gravelly voice, "I know that you adopted him, but it's a little uncanny just how much he resembles you and Kennen, Miles."

Miles face turned serious, "I've noticed that too. Sometimes I've wondered…if maybe my brother-"

Nina's abrupt movement stopped his words. Standing up she told him sternly, "Look, I know you've had your suspicions but I don't really care. Whether he's related to us or not, he's our son."

"I know that-" Miles tried.

"No! No matter who he might be related to, that won't make us love him any differently."

"Nina?" Rosalyn's soft voice cut through the building tension.

Taking a deep breath, the peach coloured yordle gave her a wane smile, "I'm sorry. Now's probably not the time for such discussions. Would you two like any more cupcakes?"

Without waiting for an answer she moved swiftly to the kitchen. "Nina," Miles' quiet voice stalled her movements. "I know you don't like these questions but they're going to be asked. Even if I don't Teemo will one day. And he has a right to know."

* * *

Rumble and Ziggs lay on their bellies under the school office veranda, their small hands working a controller between them. Up ahead Klive and his friends stood talking, completely oblivious to the small mechanical device that was jerkily making its way towards them. Once it was in range of the trio Ziggs pushed the big button in the middle of their controller, causing the device to explode and sending glue and glitter everywhere.

From their hiding place, Ziggs and Rumble silently hi-fived as shouts off outrage emerged from the furious group.

"That ought to stop them from jumping you at the junkyard again," Ziggs grinned.

"Hopefully," Rumble agreed. His turned to Ziggs with a serious, slightly hesitant expression. "Thanks for your help Ziggs."

"No problem," the brown furred yordle's smile grew wider. "After all, you mess with one of us: you mess with all of us. Now let's go before we get caught."

* * *

Poppy moved about her father's forge, humming lightly to herself. Rummaging through the junk pile, she searched for the hammer her father had misplaced, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed the big yordle pause. His face wore a strangely tender look – a look she'd only seen directed towards her before – as he gazed at the object in his hand.

"I thought I'd lost you," he spoke quietly to himself.

Curiously the blue girl approached him. As she came closer, her dad tilted him hand, giving her a full view of the item he was holding. It was a fairly simple necklace, with a gold pendant hanging from a delicate chain. The pendant had been wrought into the shape of a poppy and contained a small cluster of white gemstones to highlight the centre.

"It was your mum's," Blomgrun explained. "I made it for her when we got married."

"It's beautiful," Poppy told him.

"Yes, it is." He studied it for a moment longer before sending her a sidelong glance. "And you haven't even seen the best part yet." Unlatching the side, he revealed the small picture nestled on the inside. Poppy took in the younger version of her mum and dad as they smiled back at her. Both had their arms around each other, a look of pure contentment on their faces. And there, settled within her mother's arms, was baby Poppy with the biggest scowl on her face.

The yordling laughed, "I guess I wasn't a very happy baby."

Her dad chuckled, "Not necessarily. You were always very serious but never really unhappy. You just hated photographs. Still do."

Poppy grunted in agreement.

"Here," he passed her the necklace. "I want you to have it."

She gazed at the image a little longer before carefully closing it and putting it in her pocket.

"Thanks dad," she hugged him.

"No problem baby girl."

He picked up the hammer that had been standing conspicuously next to them. "Now: I'm reckoning you're strong enough to learn how to use Whomper."

Poppy answered his excited grin with one of her own.

* * *

"And then the dire wolf lunged at Ford! But because of his timely distraction I was able to get behind it. As he jumped for my partner my dart hit him and the poison dropped him down – dead! And so we saved the village from danger," Miles finished his story.

"Woah," Teemo breathed. "When I grow up, I want to be a Bandle City Scout, just like you dad."

Miles smiled. "You know, it's not all as great as my stories make it out to be. There's a lot of danger and a lot of hard work involved too."

"I still want to be a scout," Teemo told him persistently. "I'm going to be the best scout ever. Just like you."

Miles pulled him to his feet, a soft smile on his face. "Well then, you better get a head start. How about we go to the backyard and I'll teach you the basics of surviving in the jungle."

* * *

Pearl watched the four kids play in the backyard, her face drawn.

"You can't change her Pearl." The blue yordle turned toward her husband, taking in his serious face. Charlie continued, "She's happy the way she is. The more you try to change her the more she'll resist you."

Pearl sighed, "I just worry about her. What if she does become a Megling? She could get killed."

The white furred yordle tilted her head away from the children and back to him, "Pearl: we have an incredible and beautiful daughter. She may not be very demure or ladylike but she has a caring heart, a selfless courage and a desire to do the right thing. If she becomes a Megling she'll make a huge difference regardless of the danger. You should be proud of her."

"I don't want to lose her," the female told him, eyes starting to water.

Charlie gently wiped her tears away. "Me neither. But she's going to grow up and we can't stop that."

Pearl's face grew determined, "I can try." And with that she marched off.

Violet eyes watched her go before Charlie sighed. "There's more than one way to lose her," he whispered to himself.

* * *

Ziggs sighed, his knees pulled up and his head resting on them as he observed the ruins of his birthday party. He'd only wanted to help. He hadn't expected the cake to explode. It was the last thing he'd expected _could _explode. But the layers of sugary icing covering the table, chairs and popped balloons told him otherwise. He sighed again, his already drooping ears dropping even further. It seemed he couldn't do anything right.

"Ziggs?" Tristana's tentative voice broke through his thoughts, causing him to look up at his three approaching friends.

He tried to smile, "Some party huh? Can't say it didn't end with a bang."

The other's faces stayed serious, not believing his façade for a moment. Slowly the smile slid from his face.

"Sorry for the mess," he whispered. "I never meant for it to happen."

Tristana came and sat next to him, throwing an arm over his shoulders, "It's okay. These things happen."

Teemo and Rumble moved closer too, Rumble giving him a half smile. "You have to admit, it was kinda entertaining."

"And at least your present's okay," Teemo held out the chaotically wrapped box.

Taking it from him, Ziggs managed a genuine smile, "Thanks. You guys are the best."

"Well go on, open it. It's from the three of us," Rumble urged him.

Obediently Ziggs did, pulling out a custom made helmet. It was a sturdy piece, designed to cover all the way from the low back of the head to the bridge of the nose. Width wise it would enclose the entire head up to the ears. The top was painted in wide red and blue bands and the eye lenses were the same bright green as his eyes.

"We know how accident prone you can be sometimes, so we got you something to protect your head," Teemo explained. "You can use it when you work on your experiments or, you know, your cooking."

Ziggs grin grew until it was its usual incredible size. "Thanks guys." He put on the oversized helmet, his ears propping it up and an eye peeking out from underneath the eye pieces. "What do you think?" He struck a dramatic pose.

They laughed. "Give it a bit of time and you'll grow right into it," Tristana smiled.

"Hopefully," Rumble added.

* * *

Teemo, Ziggs, Tristana and Rumble lay looking at the stars in their sleeping bags. In front of them a fire flickered and crackled, while behind them the tents Nina and Miles had lent them stood proudly, everything set perfectly for their backyard camping trip.

At the moment Teemo was telling them about some of the different star images and the stories behind them.

"That's really cool Teemo, where'd you learn about all this?" Ziggs asked.

"My dad taught me about them," Teemo told them proudly.

Pushing herself up, Tristana turned to the pale boy. "Your family's really nice Teemo," she told him earnestly.

"I know," Teemo commented softly. "They were a family worth waiting for."

* * *

Poppy and Kennen were talking in the apple tree in his backyard, late one afternoon. Poppy was lounging with her back to the trunk and her legs stretched out before her as she listened humorously to her friend. Kennen, on the other hand, was walking along the branch above her head; his arms stretched out to keep his balance as he talked animatedly. He wobbled slightly as he turned around, causing Poppy to shake her head.

"If you break your arm again falling out of the tree, I'm not taking you to the hospital."

He simply laughed, hooking his legs over the branch before falling backwards to grin at her upside down. "I won't fall."

"Right," was Poppy's sarcastic reply.

Muffled laughter below brought the two of them out of any further argument. Looking down they saw four mischievous faces grinning up at them. With impish looks Teemo and his friends started chanting, "Kennen and Poppy sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G," before breaking down into more laughter.

"Hey!" Kennen shouted indignantly. He swung his legs off their hold, landing neatly on the branch next to Poppy before lunging down to the spot his brother and his friends were laughing.

"Scatter!" The four of them bolted in different directions trying to escape their furious pursuer. Trying to out run Kennen, however, was a futile effort. He quickly caught up to Teemo, pinning the boy to the ground before mercilessly beginning to tickle him.

The pale kit's laughter filled the air as he tried to escape his older brother's onslaught.

"Take it back," Kennen ordered him.

"Never," Teemo gasped between giggles.

The tickling intensified, "Take it back!"

"Guys!" Teemo pleaded. "Help!"

All of a sudden Kennen heard a voice shout, "Charge!" and the other three rushed out of the bushes at him. Taken by surprise, the four of them managed to push the older boy over and, before he knew it, he was lying on his stomach with the four of them perched on his back.

He struggled, trying to throw them off, but their combined weight was too much. Finally he stopped, looking up to where Poppy still sat in the tree, watching them in amusement.

"A little help?" he asked.

Poppy seemed to think about it for a moment before taking pity on her friend. "Alright you four," she jumped out of the tree and stalked towards them. "You've had your fun, now playtime's over." They took one look at her serious face before fleeing, still shrieking with laughter.

Poppy chuckled as she pulled Kennen to his feet, "Seems like you're pretty popular."

He sighed, "Why do they always follow me around?"

"Because they admire you," Poppy answered simply. "God knows why."

Kennen laughed, "Guess I'm just that great."

She rolled her eyes.

They sat in silence for a little while before Kennen's curiosity got the better of him, the earlier words replaying in his head. "Hey Poppy?"

"Mmm?" She hummed in response.

"Do you ever think about love?"

"Sometimes," she admitted. "When my dad talks about my mum I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have someone love me that way. But it doesn't last for long. Honestly, it's not something that I need to worry about now; I have much more important things to focus on like helping my dad in the forge and keeping you out of trouble." She nudged his shoulder causing him to laugh again.

"I'm glad we're friends Poppy," he told her, curiosity satisfied.

The blue girl smiled, "Me too."

* * *

**And that's it for now. Honestly I am a little sad that it's over, but also excited for what's to come :). Be warned it will get a little more serious from here but I still plan on keeping a lot of the fluffiness. Anyway, I really hoped you enjoyed it and thank you for supporting me on this wild ride :D.**

**Shiftyyy: Aw thanks :) I'm glad you liked it. I thought it was a pretty good idea myself.**

**Sarah: Well...it is cannon. So...yeah. Sorry not sorry. Honestly, I have a lot of stuff planned for these guys, both cannon and non-cannon: some of it really cute and light and some of it sad and kinda dark. So yeah, brace yourself. I hope you continue to enjoy it though, no matter what happens. And thank you :D! That means so much.**


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